As the title said, I want to expand my network in the gamedev world. Programmers, designers, artists, musicians, writers, businessmen, etcetera.
The condition I have is that I want to get to "know" the people too, to be able to have a conversation. So posting on a forum is good for 'meeting' people, but not enough to consider them part of my actual network.

How would I go around and do this? Oneliners, essays, the obvious and the less obvious, any advice is welcome.

1. Gamasutra/GamesIndustry International, are they global? Being European...2. Also, what is a 'networking mixer'? This is the first I hear of the term.

1. Yes.2. They are local events where business people meet ("mix"), maybe hear someone give a talk, maybe there's food or drink. Business cards are exchanged, and people get to meet people. Join a local networking group to find out about such events -- just google your locality name plus "mixers" and "events" and "meetups" and "networking." Also go to any local events, like anime conventions, board game conventions, sci-fi conventions, etc. Read http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson6.htm

-- Tom SloperSloperama ProductionsMaking games fun and getting them done.www.sloperama.com

Please do not PM me. My email address is easy to find, but note that I do not give private advice.

Thank you, them be good tips. I do think I overheard someone talk about something similar to a networking mixer, I'll contact him to see what it was about.
I frequent anime conventions, but I find them to be a bad place to meet up with people interested in game development. Artists enough, though! But most of them are there for other goals and reasons.

In the Lesson 6 link, it makes it seem like the most worthwhile thing about conferences is the 'holy book' of contact information; are developing companies really waiting for random people to go and call them?

In the Lesson 6 link, it makes it seem like the most worthwhile thing about conferences is the 'holy book' of contact information; are developing companies really waiting for random people to go and call them?

That's not the point of having the directory from a conference or show. The point is having information it's not easy to get otherwise.You're not a random person, are you? You're a serious job applicant, which means you want all the information you can get about a company before you apply there -- like the address, the names of key people. If you've tried to find contact information from a company's website, you can appreciate how difficult it sometimes can be to find.And as FAQ 24 says, you shouldn't apply "randomly" to a ton of companies, and you shouldn't apply long distance, either.

-- Tom SloperSloperama ProductionsMaking games fun and getting them done.www.sloperama.com

Please do not PM me. My email address is easy to find, but note that I do not give private advice.

Thanks for the reference to FAQ24, I hadn't found the FAQ section yet.
(EDIT: Wow! Thanks for the reference to the FAQ section! Its amazing!)

Being a serious job applicant is only partially true. I'm a master student, I've two years before I'll be applying for jobs.
Nonetheless, I want to get to know people, see what they do, learn from people in the business and orient myself before jumping in. Study only gets you so far anyway.
In the meanwhile, I'm working on a small game myself, also trying to find some nice running projects to join, like (assumably) most people here.
It became more and more apparent how important it is to well.. know people. Or at least, know people who know people. Ergo, this post.